The Chimera House
by Lily Winchester
Summary: Of course the only way to defeat it is to complete it. This is my first Supernatural fic. I plan to deliver an entertaining and accurate story, while at the same time developing the character of Lily Winchester. Hope you enjoy it!
1. Chapter One: On the Road Again

Lily stared out of the window of the 1967 Impala. They'd been on the road for at least seven hours now- the rolling hills of the previous night had faded into the flat plains that flashed by now. She shifted around to look at her brothers. Dean, as always, was staring faithfully at the road ahead, his eyes showing only telltale signs of fatigue. Sam was asleep, head slumping awkwardly over his seatbelt. Lily smiled to herself. _At least he finally decided to get some rest_. Ever since they'd gotten the call Sam had been immersed in his laptop researching their latest assignment.

The Call. She sighed. Another job, another "occurrence", another hunt. Her whole life had consisted of the same scenario, replayed a thousand times with a thousand different enemies in a thousand different places. Ever since she was a baby she and her brothers and father had lived this lifestyle. On the night her mother died, Lily became a hunter. She traveled with her father, Sam, and Dean, hiding out in hotel rooms until her dad finally decided she was ready for the big leagues. And then they were one big happy hunter family… until Sam left for college. Her father had been furious. There was a lot of screaming, arguing, fighting. Lily was happy for her brother. She knew how much he wanted to go to law school. It had been a very confusing time for the Winchester family. In the end Sam left. The anger and unrest between him and their father went unsolved. Although she was glad Sam was pursuing the life he wanted, Lily was sad to see him go-- especially on those terms. She loved Dean and her father, but she was certain that Sam was the only one in the family who really understood her. She'd always been closer to Sam than she was to anyone else in her family.

So Lily and Dean had continued to travel with their father. Eventually she and Dean would handle their own jobs while John took care of more advanced cases. During those long hours on the road she learned a lot about her oldest brother. She also learned a lot about the job from him. She even began to take on some of his personality traits. Then one day her father announced that the three of them would be settling down for a while. He said he'd found a place near the home of an old friend of his and he was going to buy it. Of course she and Dean thought his claims were empty, but by the following month they were settled in the small town of Ipswich, South Dakota. That was the summer before ninth grade for Lily. The thought of going to school literally made her sick. Up until that point all of her school work had been completed and submitted online. She'd never had any conventional schooling or any real friends her own age. She was terrified and ashamed simultaneously. She couldn't believe how she, a girl who had single handedly disposed of countless evil spirits and demons, was afraid to walk into a simple brick building teaming with pubescent boys and girls.

Terrified though she was, Lily managed to force her feet to carry her through the double doors that first day of school. She was immediately repulsed by the majority of the girls she encountered that day. Most of the preppy jock guys had the same effect. They sat in their little cliques at lunch and during class, discussing other people's business, starting hurtful jokes that would soon become rumors and carry through the school like wildfire. All at the expense of some poor kid who was unlucky enough to be excluded from their group. It disgusted her. As was so often the case in small towns, anything different from the norm was shunned, looked down upon, gossiped about. Anyone who didn't wear a certain brand of clothing, drive a certain car, or believe a certain idea was considered trash. Lily remembered looking at the bright pinks, yellows, and oranges of the Abercrombie and Hollister shirts and skirts all the girls wore-in her faded no-name red-and-cream plaid button up hanging open over an old black Metallica t-shirt, washed out jeans with a rip just above the right knee, and classic black Converse high-tops, she knew she was fair game for their critical eyes and whispered words.

In fact it was probably her disgust and inability to fit in with this small town mentality that first attracted her to Carson. _Heh, Carson_…

Lily's head snapped up as the door to the Impala slammed shut.


	2. Chapter Two: The Lincoln Bridge Inn

_A/N: Ok, here's Chapter 2. In case anyone is wondering, italics are Lily's thoughts. No one else can hear them. And now onward to the story. Let me know how you like it! _

She hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep. Dean had already gotten their overnight bags out of the trunk of the Impala and was standing on the sidewalk looking a little impatient.

"Well, I guess we're here…" Sam sighed as he opened his door.

_I suppose we are… _Lily got out of the car and looked around. There wasn't a terrible lot to see. There were a few trees, a country road…a sign that read "Lincoln Bridge Inn". It was a quaint little building—very typical of a small, Midwestern town.

"Morning, ladies." Dean said as he unceremoniously tossed the bags at Sam. Sam stumbled forward to catch them, nearly dropping his computer bag in the process. "DEAN!" he yelled and shot an incredulous look at his older brother.

"Just testing your reflexes, Sammy. Gotta be sharp to keep up with this case." He strolled away chuckling and disappeared inside the inn. Sam looked ready to slap him. "He's not taking this seriously!" he fumed. Lily just rolled her eyes and took a bag. "You know how he is. This is just another pissing contest for him. It's right up his alley. Let him enjoy it…It's kind of nice to see him excited about something for a change." It was true. Dean had been everything from irritable to depressed to insufferably domineering of late. He was absolutely dead-set on finding their dad. Lily was all for the idea—she missed her father just as much as Dean did—but she was a realist. As much confidence as she had in the hunting skills she and her brothers shared, she knew they wouldn't find John unless he wanted to be found. And at the moment he seemed pretty content being on his own and dropping cases on his children every now and then. Dean hadn't quite accepted this yet, though, and every moment he wasn't working on a case was devoted to locating their father.

Lily and Sam followed Dean into the inn. The décor on the inside was just as expected as the appearance on the outside. Lots of brown and white. Dated, faded, and quite frankly depressing paintings hung on the walls. Their room wasn't any different. There was a small, clean window, a dark wooden desk, and a mirror. A plain, uncomfortable-looking rocking chair lurked in one corner, while a more comfortable, albeit uglier, tan chair haunted another. The lampshades were covered with plastic, and the artwork on the walls was just as disheartening as the paintings in the lobby. The bathroom was small and bland, but clean. It was certainly one of the plainer rooms they'd rented in all their travels.

The three siblings stood in the doorway of the room, all of them acutely aware of the unfortunate circumstance that afflicted them without fail no matter where they stayed. There were only two beds. They turned to face each other.

"Alright. Let's do this," Lily said solemnly. The three of them balled their hands into fists, raised them, and eyed each other warily. Sam spoke.

"One…two…three…shoot!"

There was a shuffling sound as they rushed to secure their bed privileges.

"HAH!" Lily exclaimed. "Paper covers rock! I win!" Dean and Sam looked at her in disbelief.

"No way! You ALWAYS pick scissors! Rematch!" Dean said. Both he and Sam had chosen "rock".

"Not a chance. You two are incredibly predictable. Your loss." She laughed as she dropped her bag on one of the beds. After another spine-tingling round of rock-paper-scissors Dean claimed the other bed. Sam was not amused.

"This is just getting better and better," Dean said, "Fresh case, clean room, soft bed…you really have to learn to appreciate simple pleasures, eh Sammy?"

_This could get ugly…better redirect…_

"So, what was the name of this town again? And how many disappearances?" Lily asked before her brothers could get into a full on argument. Sam gave Dean a final reproving look, took a deep breath, and answered his sister.

"This would be the bustling metropolis of Tama, Iowa. According to the newspapers there have been at least three disappearances in the last month and a half. All teenagers, all around those coordinates dad left us."

Lily nodded. Only a short twenty four hours ago they'd received a voicemail from their father. Coordinates and nothing else. As far as she could tell, the numbers pointed to the middle of a wide, empty space between Tama and another town called Montour. _Probably a cornfield…yeah, it has to be. That was practically all we saw for hours when we were driving up…_

"Ok. So, what else do we know?" They'd already been over this in the car, but Lily liked to rehash everything no matter what the case. Especially when it was something they'd never dealt with before.

"According to the police reports I've gotten," Sam paused to pick up his notes, "there have been two separate incidents. The first to disappear were Angela Nash and Pete Youngbear. Friends say Pete heard about some new haunted house and he and his girlfriend—Angela—decided to give it a whirl. Apparently they heard about it a few months ago and had been looking for it ever since. Pete's friend, Donnie Crabshaw, said he talked to Pete the night before they disappeared. 'Pete was real excited. He said he was sure they finally found it. Somewhere around were G Ave and 340th St cross. He told me he and Angie were going to try it the following night.' The two were seen leaving Tama in Pete's truck. That was a month ago. They haven't been seen since."

"Maybe they just took an extended vacation. Youngbear might be a smooth operator!" Dean chortled. Lily rolled her eyes and shot him a look. "Quiet time, Dean. Quiet time. Ok, that's one incident. What's the next?"

"Alright…the third disappearance was a Charles Duncan. He heard the story about this house as well, took his girlfriend…same story really, except this time we have a witness."

"Who's the girl?" Lily asked

"Marcie Dvorak. It says here, 'Dvorak was discovered in the corn field," _hah, I knew it…_ "about a mile away from the scene of the disappearance. She was very distressed and not able to give a comprehensible account of what happened to Duncan."

"So that's our witness," Dean said. "Where is she now, does it say?"

"She's been admitted to a hospital in Grinnell for 'severe emotional trauma and delusions.'"

"Of course she has…well, we can work with that. I want to talk to the friend, Crabshanks or whatever, and maybe try to get a word with local police and see what they've got. Then I want to check this place out in the daylight. See if we've really found THE Chimera House," said Dean.

Lily looked at her brothers. "You really think this could be it? I mean…dad talked about it, but I thought it was just a legend. No one's ever found it supposedly."

"Well, if it is…this is our chance to shut it down for good. I'm just not entirely sure how we are supposed to do that. I called Bobby last night. He's working on a few theories. In the meantime, I think we need to start snooping around. Like Dean said, we need to talk to Crabshaw and the police…and of course this Dvorak girl. Lil, can you handle the teens? It might be easier for you to get the friend and the girl to open up."

"You got it. Just get me into this hospital or whatever and I'll get the info we need…hopefully."

"OK! Enough talking. I'm itching to get out of here. I'll drop you two off on my way to ground zero. I'm ready to get a piece of this." Dean said eagerly. Sam looked at Lily. Neither of them really liked the sound of that, but time wasn't a luxury they had. If they wanted to shut this thing down they would need to split up.

"Dean, your enthusiasm is admirable, really." Lily began. "But you need to chill the hell out. Check out the site of the disappearances, but be smart about it. We don't really know what we're up against here. Be careful." Lily proceeded to give Dean a serious, searching look until he promised that he wouldn't do anything reckless.

Dean decided to drop Sam and Lily off at the hospital in Grinnell first. The eyewitness account seemed like a good top priority. As they walked through the lobby of the Inn, the manager stopped them. He gestured to a stack of brochures on the counter.

"You should take one of these. Has a list of local attractions that you may find interesting." Lily picked up a brochure. The notable attractions included an Indian Casino, the Lincoln Bridge, a winery, a bowling alley, and her personal favorite, the butter cow statue. She stifled a giggle and turned to the manager.

"I've heard there's a pretty scary haunted house around here. Would you be able to point us in that direction?" she asked sweetly. Immediately the color drained from the manager's kind, weathered face.

"I heard about that. Heard it's bad news. Dangerous. Three kids have already disappeared." He turned to Sam and Dean. _Addressing the adults_, Lily thought with a mental eye roll. "You'd do well to keep your sister away from there."

"Yes sir," said Dean, "You know teenagers. Always getting themselves into some kind of trouble." The manager nodded in agreement. "We'll keep an eye on her. No haunted houses for her, don't you worry."

"Good thing you're a sensible young man," he turned to address Lily, "You're lucky to have such a responsible older brother. You may not think so now, but some day…." He returned to his post behind the counter.

Once they were outside Lily landed a well-aimed jab in Dean's side. "You are so full of shit," She said. Dean just chuckled and climbed into the Impala. Sam and Lily followed.

"It's about a forty five minute drive to Grinnell," Dean said, "so you two should probably rest up."

"You sure you don't want me to drive?" Sam asked. "You haven't gotten much rest since we left Oakford."

Dean shook his head. "I couldn't sleep right now if I wanted to."

His tone was just dark enough to throw up a few red flags in Lily's mind, but she decided now was not the time to address them. Dean turned the key in the Impala's ignition, and Lily began to gaze out of her window. It wasn't long before she returned to her reverie about her early high school days.

_A/N: Next chapter will be up soon! Please review!_


	3. Chapter Three: Here We Go Again

_A/N: Ok, I acknowledge that I am a dirty little liar. But really, "The next chapter will be up soon" is a relative term, right? In any case, here it is, accompanied by my apologies for making everyone wait._

It was mid-October, and Lily had finally found her niche in the social structure of Ipswich High. It had taken her about two and a half months, and there was no one else in this particular niche, but she really preferred it that way. The majority of the other freshman girls were, on the surface, vapid, rude, or just plain mean. Most of them couldn't relate to Lily, nor she to them, for obvious reasons. She had seen death. She had witnessed evil. Real evil. The closest these girls had come to that was seeing the boy they were crushing on dating someone else.

Lily had tried to fall in with the punky kids, and the goth kids as well, but that didn't work either. In fact, it was worse. Not only were they clueless about life, but they were depressing as well. Some of them went so far as to claim to have some kind of connection to "the other side", or to have seen demons and the like. Lily felt a sort of gloomy contempt for them all, and so she became the weird girl, the loner.

She sat in the quad by herself during lunch period. There wasn't really anyone she cared to sit with, and there certainly wasn't anyone who cared to sit with her. On this particular day, she was in store for a rare treat: a visit from Rachel Reed.

Rachel Reed was something of a leader among the pretty, popular girls at Ipswich. She was pretty, tall, and the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in town. Her light brown hair was always curled into a meticulously perfect style, yet it still managed to convey a relaxed, effortless look. Her eyes were shockingly blue, but cold. Her attitude was what really set her apart from the other girls though. She was fierce and fearless. She could appear incredibly innocent and wholesome one second, and become a soulless harpey the next. In all honesty, Lily admired her for her confidence and her self-awareness, but she couldn't forgive the way Rachel conducted herself.

On this fateful day, as Lily bit into her PBJ, Rachel and two of her minions left their usual perch in the middle of the quad to join her. The three girls stood in front of Lily in silence for a few minutes, waiting for her to acknowledge them. When she didn't, Rachel spoke.

"So…I noticed that your dad dropped you off at school this morning."

_You have eyeballs, congratulations…_"Yep." Lily replied, and continued chewing her sandwich.

"Yeah…" Rachel continued as her cronies giggled behind her, "Um, interesting truck he was driving. What kind is it again?"

Lily sighed to herself._ Really?_ "I couldn't tell you, to be honest. Never really thought about it." More giggles from the two brainless blondes cowering behind their fearless leader.

"Don't you think it's a little…out of date? Your dad should probably look into getting another one. The one he has now emits enough exhaust to suffocate an elephant. Oh…I forgot. Your family has some…different issues they need to address…I know! I can get my daddy to buy your family a new truck! We're always looking for new ways to help the…less fortunate." She ended her little monologue with a falsely sweet smile. Her friends were in stitches at this point, and even Rachel let a small chuckle escape.

It had gotten out shortly after their move that there was no maternal figure in the Winchester household. Of course, rather than politely inquire, or just mind their own business, people gossiped about how her mother had run off with someone, or how her father was abusive, or how her family had no money, or any other ridiculous rumor. It had also gotten out that Lily had two brothers, not just one who lived with her, and similar rumors followed that revelation. Lily was tired of it all. She was about to tell Rachel just how unfortunate this situation was about to become when a noise from the bushes behind Lily distracted them. Something large and blue suddenly lunged out of the leaves.

Lily's instincts acted first. She was five feet away with her hand on her pocket knife, Mona, the moment she heard something emerging from the bushes. Rachel and her friends weren't so fast. The water balloon exploded in the fearless Rachel's face, and somehow managed to drench the other girls as well. As they were shouting in outrage and attempting to salvage their respective hair styles, Lily watched a boy step out of the space between the bushes and the building they grew next to.

He wasn't of remarkable height. Maybe 5'10 or so. His hair was dyed an artificial black, except for one bright streak of fire engine red. He wore a pair of dark wash jeans, and interestingly enough his AC/DC t-shirt matched the one Lily was wearing. Lily couldn't tear her gaze away from his eyes. They were a rare pale grey, and betrayed a sort of mischievous intelligence. He stepped away from the bushes and turned to face her. He eyed her right hand, which was still clenched around the small knife in her pocket, and then he gave her a smirk and a wink and continued to stare at her, wordlessly. Finally, when Lily was beginning to feel uncomfortable, Rachel broke the silence.

"Dammit, Carson! Why do you always have to be such an immature prick!"

Carson began to laugh at this, and Rachel turned on her heel and left, minions in tow, without waiting for an answer. Lily and Carson were alone.

"Well, here we are. Grinnell Hospital." The sound of Dean's voice drew Lily out of her reverie.

"Great. What's our story?"

"We are…reporters for the…Toledo Chronicle. Sound good?" Sam responded as he rifled through his papers one last time.

"Lovely." Lily replied as she stepped out of the Impala. Sam followed her.

"Alright, Kiddies! Have fun. I'll be by later to pick you up." Dean said with a grin. Lily fixed him with a serious look.

"Be careful, Dean." He sobered his expression for a moment and promised that he would before driving away. Sam looked at his sister. "Shall we?" he asked, and began walking toward the hospital.

As she turned to follow Sam, Lily could feel the excitement bubbling inside of her. It happened during every hunt. While there were aspects of their lifestyle that she absolutely abhorred, Lily loved the investigation stage of the hunt. She loved being challenged in different ways, and she loved to prove that she could quickly adapt herself to any situation. She could read people, and she could do it well. She could make them trust her and she used this to her advantage. She also loved the fluidness with which she and her brothers operated. When they found themselves in a tight spot it was almost as if they could read each other's minds. It gave her a rush, and she was eager to get this particular case under way.

The two siblings entered the hospital, and Sam approached the nurse at the reception desk.

"Excuse me, miss. My name is Arnold Davies, and this is Emma Wilson. We're doing research for an article for the Toledo Chronicle, and we were hoping to be able to speak to a patient here. Could you help us?" Sam finished his little speech with a winning smile. Lily stood next to him trying to look professional and perhaps a tad nervous.

The nurse behind the desk narrowed her eyes at both of them. "If you're talking about Ms. Dvorak…"

"Yes ma'am," Lily chimed in, a little too eagerly," We're writing an article concerning the recent disappearances and were hoping to get a firsthand account of what happened to her and her boyfriend."

The nurse sighed and shut the folder she was holding with a snap. She placed it very deliberately on her desk, and fixed Sam and Lily with a stern look. "Now listen to me. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told the two you sent yesterday. Ms. Dvorak has been through a lot. She's already had to give testimonies to the police, and she is obviously very distressed. She doesn't need to relive that night again for your benefit. If you want her account, go talk to the police and see what they have to say to you." With that she began to straighten some papers on her desk in a rather agitated manner.

"But if we could just—," Sam began. "I. Said. No." Replied the nurse, "Now you can leave, or I can call someone to show you the door if you've forgotten where it is."

"No, no. That isn't necessary. We'll leave." He turned away. Lily was about to follow him when something on the nurse's desk caught her eye. It was a picture frame, and inside it was an older photograph of the nurse and another woman. That wasn't what drew Lily's attention, though. She turned toward the nurse as tears began to stream from her eyes.

"Please, miss. I really need your help," Lily said in a choked whisper. The nurse snapped her head up, slightly alarmed. "We lied. We aren't really reporters. Marcie is my best friend. I told her not to go to that stupid haunted house! I told her it was dangerous, but she went anyway. I haven't talked to her since that night, and I just know she needs me. I have to be there for her. I tried to visit before, but I was told she couldn't take visitors. I had to see her, so I got my cousin here to help me pose as a reporter thinking maybe you'd let us through. I know we shouldn't have lied. I know it was wrong, but I have to see my friend. She's like my sister. I can't let her go through this alone. Please…" Lily continued to sob and carry on unintelligibly. Sam caught on by this point, and he came to her side.

"Come on, Em. Let's go. We can't ask this woman to let us in to see Marcie. She could lose her job. It wouldn't be right …" Lily chanced another look at the nurse. The woman's eyes had softened considerably. She had come out from behind her desk, and was now kneeling next to Lily with her hand on her shoulder.

"There, there, sweetheart. It's ok. I know how you feel. Let me see what I can do…" and she walked away and began talking to a doctor.

Sam remained kneeling next to Lily. "What triggered that?" Lily gestured toward the picture on the nurse's desk. Sam's eyes followed, and understanding dawned on him. "Oh, you are so wrong for that," he whispered."

"I learned from the best," Lily replied as she gazed at the photo in its frame. In the picture, the nurse was leaning next to a woman in a hospital bed. The other woman was covered in bruises and bandages, but both were smiling. The frame was composed of a quote that ran around the outside of the picture: "Friends are sisters that destiny forgot to give us."

The nurse was walking back toward them. Lily made a show of trying to stem her tears, only to dissolve into them once again. "Darling, the doctor says you can see your friend." Said the nurse. Lily looked at her as though she were looking at an angel. "You can see her, but only you, and only for a few minutes. She's not really herself, and it is safer for you and for her if you cut your visit short. I know it's not much, but it's all we can do." Lily felt a strong pang of guilt in her stomach. While she was proud of her ability to think on her feet, she always felt bad about playing people's emotions against them._ Too late to back out now._ She jumped to her feet and gave the nurse a hug. "Thank you. Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me." _Well it's not really a lie…_The nurse smiled and said, "This way. If you'll just wait here for us, sir."

She then began to lead Lily down the hall, toward their only living witness.


End file.
